In the wake of Tuesday’s suspension of Fort Worth’s top general Brig. Gen. Bryan Roberts, President Obama vowed to crack down on sexual assault in his commencement address to U.S. Naval Academy graduates today.

A series of assault cases, including two separate incidents of men involved in crimes against women, have drawn national attention to the military’s sexually hostile environment in recent months.

As scandal threatens the military as a symbol of American dignity, Obama emphasized in his address that even a single image portraying the misconduct of a member of the military can “endanger our forces and undermine our efforts to achieve security and peace” if it goes viral. Two competing bills that aim to combat sexual assault in the military have been debated in the Senate in the last month, the latest of which was spearheaded by Missouri Democratic Sen. Clare McCaskill.

“Our military remains the most trusted institution in America,” Obama said in his address. “…those who commit sexual assault are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that make our military strong.”

A Pentagon report released earlier this month indicated a nearly 35 percent rise in sexual assaults in the military since 2010. The report also estimated 12,100 of 203,000 active duty men and 13,900 of 1.2 million men on active duty were sexually assaulted since 2010, but only a fraction of them reported the incidents to their superiors.

New York Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand proposed legislation that would bar commanders from nullifying or altering sexual assault convictions, as well as demand sexual assault charges be processed outside the chain of command, directly to a military prosecutor – a provision that McCaskill eliminated in her proposed bill announced on Thursday. McCaskill’s legislation also sentences members of the military convicted of rape or sexual assault to dismissal or dishonorable discharge.

Though Obama did not throw his weight behind a particular drafted bill in his address, he emphasized that the legislature cannot allow the trail of sexual assault cases to tarnish the military’s reputation as the “most trusted institution in America” and “have effects that ripple far and wide.”

“That’s why we have to be determined to stop these crimes, because they’ve got no place in the greatest military on Earth,” Obama said.

Members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, including South Dakota’s Rep. Kristi Noem, have articulated additional provisions they hope will be included in the final legislation. In a Thursday release, Noem called for improved investigation of sex-related offenses and qualifications for sexual assault prevention and support personnel, as well as delineating basic training standards for sexual assault education.

“Our military men and women put themselves in harm’s way to defend our country’s freedom, but should be able to feel safe when surrounded by fellow soldiers,” Noem said.